The National Urban League is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest community-based organization of its kind in the nation. Its current President is Marc Morial.
Locally, the Urban League of Middle Tennessee (ULMT) is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment, equality, and social justice. Founded in 1968 as the Nashville Urban League and headquartered in Nashville, ULMT collaborates at the local level with community leaders, policymakers and corporate partners across Middle Tennessee to elevate standards of living for African Americans and other historically underserved groups.
The ULMT 2022 Equal Opportunity Day Luncheon is Thursday, February 24 at 11:00 a.m. at the Grand Hyatt Nashville. This annual luncheon benefits ULMT, supporting programming that keeps the progress moving. This year’s event features keynote speaker Nashville entrepreneur and business thought leader Marcus Whitney, with Mistress of Ceremonies Vicki Yates. Help the ULMT mission by joining in person or virtually. Tickets are available now at the ULMT website: ulmt.org
Learn more about all the ULMT programs and services via their website, or phone 615.254.0525, or e-mail at ulmt@ulmt.org
The Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes was founded in New York City on September 29, 1910 by Ruth Standish Baldwin and Dr. George Edmund Haynes, among others. It merged with the Committee for the Improvement of Industrial Conditions Among Negroes in New York (founded in New York in 1906) and the National League for the Protection of Colored Women (founded in 1905), and was renamed the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes. Haynes served as the organization’s first Executive Director. In 1920, the organization took the present name, the National Urban League.
The mission of the Urban League movement is “to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.” After World War II, Black veterans who fought racial hatred overseas returned home determined to fight it here, giving new energy to the Civil Rights Movement. As hundreds of thousands of new jobs opened up, shifting the economy from industrial manufacturing to a white-collar, service-oriented economy, the National Urban League turned its attention to placing HBCU graduates in professional positions.
In 1961, Whitney Young became executive director, substantially expanding the League’s fund-raising ability and making the League a full partner in the civil rights movement, hosting the planning meetings for the 1963 March on Washington, initiating programs and pushing for federal aid to cities.
Since 2003, the league’s eighth President and CEO Marc Morial, has worked to reenergize the movement’s diverse constituencies by building on the legacy of the organization and increasing it’s profile. Today, the National Urban League has 90 affiliates serving 300 communities, in 36 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services in education, health care, housing, jobs, and justice—improving the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide. Learn more at: nul.org
